Compromise would limit investments in China’s development of advanced tech
On Thursday, House Republicans Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) announced a legislative compromise on an NDAA provision to restrict U.S. investment in China’s development of advanced technologies. The new legislation comes as China races to outpace the U.S. in development of AI technology and to use AI for military ends.
Earlier drafts of the legislation, known as the Preventing Adversaries from Developing Critical Capabilities Act, restricted investments by industrial sectors. The new compromise proposes outbound investment restrictions on specific critical technologies.
“This is a matter of national security. The US should not be funding China’s AI race,” said ARI Senior VP of Government Affairs Satya Thallam. “We already know that China is trying to leapfrog the US on AI, building military capabilities off of American tech. The last thing we want to do is enable that effort by funding critical tech development for a foreign adversary. America winning the 21st Century technology race starts with getting tough on the competition.”
Americans for Responsible Innovation endorsed the Preventing Adversaries from Developing Critical Capabilities Act in a year-end list of bills for Congress to consider during the lame-duck session.
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Americans for Responsible Innovation (ARI) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to policy advocacy in the public interest, focused on emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI). Learn more at responsibleinnovation.org.